Holland calling

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Lindy MacDonald, right, in a game earlier this season.

Lindy MacDonald is in her first year at St. Thomas, but this isn’t her first year playing ACAA basketball. Two years ago MacDonald would have been lacing up her Nikes as a part of STU basketball’s biggest rivals.

Next Saturday the St. Thomas women’s basketball team will play against the Holland College Hurricanes. Both teams are nationally ranked and are battling over the top of ACAA. MacDonald has already played one game for her new team against Holland College, and is getting ready for the next one.

“It’s definitely weird,” said MacDonald. “But because it’s a totally different team it’s not as bad.”

Most players only stay at Holland College for two years, so the only person still there from when she played is the coach.

“It’s still a bit weird because of the coach, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

MacDonald says the only thing her former coach said to her was hello, and only because she approached him. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t have said anything.

MacDonald played for the Hurricanes from 2010 to 2012, but the team wasn’t strong. In her first year playing for the Hurricanes, they almost didn’t have enough players.

“We started out with five players. We were trying to get anybody to come play, and somehow we scrounged up ten,” said MacDonald.

Now Holland College has started recruiting in Ontario and the Bahamas, and has climbed up to second in the ACAA conference, along with being ranked ninth nationally. MacDonald had a year off in between playing for Holland College and St. Thomas, and in that time, a rivalry grew between the two teams. They faced off against each other in the ACAA finals, where the Tommies walked away with a victory and a trip to nationals. When the two played earlier in the year, STU came out on top, winning 73-63.

“When I was there it wasn’t like that at all, so it’s really weird being on this side of it.”

This is the first time MacDonald has been on a strong team, she’s enjoying the experience.

“I did think I was done after Holland College, but I still had three years of eligibility left so it didn’t take much convincing once I moved to Fredericton to play at STU. I’ve always admired their work ethic and drive so it wasn’t hard to decide. It is such a huge opportunity,” said MacDonald.

“That’s why it’s nice here because I’ve never played on a really good team. The girls are phenomenal,”

However, the game she’s most concerned about isn’t next Saturday’s match, but instead when the team makes the trip to Prince Edward Island to play the Hurricanes on Feb. 22.

“It’s going to be a lot different when I go there to play in their gym.”